A talk-

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Leroy was floating in the Flame Vortex Core. Thankfully it was not spinning at all! Further down his two Dantians pulsed with power. Slight signs of them trying to reach the next Rank but stopped by the Flame Vortex Core in a way.

"How are you, Leroy?" Shango asked. He floated around the outside of the vortex like a specter. Hands containing a small trace of a type of fire. Not much different than that of the qi produced by the Flame Vortex Core. But it looked unstable in a way. "Your Soul is quite the mess from what happened recently. Your power has been Unblocked a little faster due to your cultivation methods at least."

"Well before you abducted me again, I was ok. Not the blind part anyway, that sucks. But why am I here and you are here?" Try as he might, he couldn't move. Which only intensified his fear. No one liked full paralyzation. The fact words came out projected without talking via mouth didn't matter. "Got bored?"

"Nope. Just checking on you closer." Shango sent a bit of fire out. Before it reached the body, however, Qi from the Flame Vortex Core hit against it. "I see. So you still do not trust me. That is good for survival."

*Fwish!* More fire erupted from Shango's hands. He held towers of flames with ease that defied the laws of physics. The control, at a level most dreamed of kept it from raging out of control. The two towers were pointed forward towards the Flame Vortex Core. Causing slight ripples near it that mimicked distortions in space.

"How much do you remember of the instance with that Pseduo-Deity?" Shango asked. Having searched the happenings of the encounter he and a few other deities looked in on Leroy and his friends very closely, revealing the work of an old enemy of theirs. "Talk or experience pain."

"Get bent!" Leroy shouted back defiantly. Not like he could do much else. Why in the hell does anyone listen to their abductors or what they say when they will be killed anyway? "Get started already yah bastard!"

"Disrespectful whelp!" Raising his hands to attack angrily, "Shango" would not be lenient. "I will show you the power of a Deity!"

Right before the flames towers could hit, however, they burst apart harmlessly. Dissipating into nothingness.

But a small little piece was taken by the Flame Vortex Core. Leroy's eyes narrowed as the piece taken in was different than what he obtained from the man-god before.

"Enough!" A voice boomed like thunder from the dantian. A likeness of Shango floated out arms folded. "To imitate me, how low you have fallen Jakuta!" Waves of thunder force echoed out in every direction.

The booming thunder bumped into Leroy letting him move once more. A trail of lighting ran around him for a moment.

"Ugh, that is just not right." Wiggling his body, alleviated some of the tinglings. A few blinks of the eyes and he could see more. "Huh, he doesn't look like you on a closer look."

"Humph, what a foolish Champion you have." Jakuta frowned almost snarling. "You should have waited until I finished questioning him. Now we will know less."

"Haa, humans are not as reliant on us as they used to be, so, of course, they dislike us and are uneasy to trust us." Shango was more understanding of the matters of humans. After all, he used to be one. "And this does not help. You made an enemy just that easily. He is very spiteful and petty as far as mortals go."

"Damn right, I am!" Leroy's eyes blazed with lighting and fire. To be toyed with in your own Internal Space is really shitty. His Flame Vortex Core however didn't respond still. But his two Dantian were willing to fight it out. "Explain yah old fart!"

"Old fart..." Jakuta muttered the words with a small smile. He was as ready to beat the mortal for his disrespect, as Leroy was willing to die fighting him. "..I will rip you apart!" But he was stopped once more by Shango. "Even now you stop me?! Have you taken leave of your senses!?"

"NO." Shango shook his head back and forth. "But should he show you respect you should ask yourself this. Even more so, as one whose Aspect is Falsehood, you can tell when someone is lying."

"Very well then." Jakuta was just as petty as mortals. His hand outstretched as he poked Leroy in the chest faster than he could respond. Searching his memories and his soul in seconds was easy. "Tch!" The Deity pulled away not liking what he saw. "Hatred for a past you did not even live."

Having searched him, Jakuta spoke on the one thing he didn't immediately like just because. For inside he saw the hurt that festered inside Leroy and wanted to get rid of with anger.

"Get the hell out of my soul!" Leroy was furious as the Deity planned. After being toyed with and violated. His Dantians exploded with power sending out a dual distortion that hit in every direction. The Flame Vortex Core reacting in kind finally. As if it was waiting to see his response to matters such as this. "I said get out!"

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*Woom!* A forceful blast shot out from the core.

*Bzzt!* Lighting coming from every corner of the Internal Space next. Adding together, as the Flame Vortex Core spun additional discharges and igniting the Formation he had inside for subduing into one of attacking!

*Fwish!* Every drop of Qi from the Dantians poured forth. A chasm traveled towards Jakuta quickly. He was not a god of fire despite the flames he produced before.

Shango moved away from his fellow deity. This was caused by him alone and would be dealt with by him alone. A slight smile on his face seeing Leroy act very much in the way of one of his Ancestors.

"Until next time." Jakuta did not want to cause further trouble, this caused the other Deity to pay close attention to this move. "But you are not allowed to remember me specifically." He faded away from Leroy who started to clutch his head in pain. More of his personal memories when getting to Rexford were suppressed and the overall situation became murky with the Backdoor Afterlife Terminal. "The "rules" must be followed till the contract is fully made."

Shango did not interfere but he did grab hold of the Qi and sent it all towards the Flame Vortex Core afterward. The Dantians were currently empty and wouldn't survive such an energy output. The rules could be circumvented if done just right.

"Leroy...." Shango called out as he cleaned up after the ever-whimsical Jakuta. "Mindful of the change already between your sense of self and Aspects ..circulate your Cultivation at once!" His voice came out urgent. Feeling a sense of dread, the Deity moved away. "Already has enough Qi, just need to put it to use with a mental strike."

Leroy was shunted out of his Internal Space. The abrupt jolt woke him enough with the words spoken. Shango did not want to take the chance that anything was left behind in his soul. Better he refines everything just in case.

The man god Shango moved around Leroy's Internal Space. Besides the few funds, medicines, and a few books, it was empty. The water from the pond was already used up beforehand and left just a few whisps of Cold Qi behind.

*FWOOOSH!* The Flame Vortex Core spun faster than ever before. Blue-white lines spread around Leroy's body in response. The Metal Seed thrummed as the lighting was called down from the sky. An image of an angry man could be seen in the clouds.

Jakuta was planning on using his Qi that dispersed in Leroy later. It would have allowed the Deity to find him easier for next time. But it was refined under the Flame Vortex Core's power. A mortal so capable was a cause to pay attention to. A Champion able to do it must be watched for sides taken!

Six bolts of lightning came down at once. It was not guarded as Leroy only focused on cultivating. Each blast was pulled into the lines on his body. Following the circulation pattern of his techniques helped the process but not the pain.

To prevent hearing his own screams, Leroy made a small incision at his throat. The vocal cords and muscle tissue were burned. He could heal it later on of course. The rampaging lightning that went through his body was as intense as his attack against his opponents. And climbing higher in moments.

Flashes of the fight against Lord Ghast surfaced. But the raw anger he felt caused it to push around and be unable to focus. His changes internally were more important to get a hold of as well as the changes in his body externally.

Skin burned but was forced to heal by the circulation of lighting. Bones cracking and chipping from the pressure. The Metal Seed hummin more and more as it pulsed out into his very molecular structure. The destroyed bone fragments dissolved into metal flakes that were visible to the eye. Each circulation spread throughout his body in different locations. Almost like a plant spreading in a way.

Hours passed as Leroy cultivated. The barrier created by Jakuta was still in place after all. Not only did the angry Deity have its energy used in Leroy's cultivation process, but the thunderstorm and the illusion also helped give him a safe place to break through.

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Nightfall-

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"I cannot believe they couldn't find him." Tang Bo grumbled. He was alarmed and worried about his friend. Especially with the bets in place involving him. "If he is seriously hurt..."

"Nonsense, we are too close to the Akademy for that to happen." Xiao Mei consoled him as best she could. But she was also worried. "Vice-principal Jin and the others are searching, I am sure we will find him soon."

Nodding, Tang Bo continued his search. Xiao Mei sticking close in case they discover the worse. They were not the ones to find him, however.

A Demon Bird, in the Body Tempering Realm, had found Leroy. It was not unusual for the low-level beasts to arrive near the outskirts of the place. Especially after the changes in the entire region with migration patterns. But the fact the chick was basically rubbing against an unconscious Leroy was weird.

It picked at the black dredges that left Leroy's body and licked a few places of sweat. If they would have arrived earlier they would have seen that the Demon Bird was much smaller before compared to now.

It was actually a freshly hatched beast and only a month or so old.

"Leroy!" Tang Bo shouted. He and Xiao Mei ran over. Both stared as the Demon Bird turned and squawked at them. Its wings spread defensively in front of Leroy as the beak opened and closed intensely. Motes of Qi fire shout out at the two. "What in the world is this dumb beast doing?"

The Demon Bird looked very close to that of the African Fish Eagle. A large powerful bird of prey with one of its best qualities being that it had eyesight eight times better than humans. The Demon Bird equivalent of course had the saw characteristics but some even beyond that.

For the chicks had the qualities of an Adult African Fish Eagle but the teenage version of the beasts had 20 times that. The adult birds, well they had know idea since none were seen in these parts.

"It looks like it is protecting him." Xiao Mei cocked her head to the side as she guarded against the flames. Just as confused as Tang Bo. "Or maybe Leroy bought it to eat later and he passed out from drink?" She spotted the spilled jar of wine to the side.

Before they could see anything else on the matter, the Demon Bird gave a cry.

"Cawwww!" Qi erupted from its body carried with a screech as it broke through to the Qi Refining Realm. The talons despite just touching against the dirt dug in. Its beak looked as sharp as a knife and its eyes took them in as if they were a meal waiting to be picked apart.